At the weekend I shared how the time had come to address my flagging energy levels and boost my wellbeing after a tough year and embedding survival strategies. This revelation and my thinking behind it seemed to resonate with many of my friends, family and colleagues. It’s great to open up and be met with positivity. I want to share how I have done the hardest part – getting started and all those immediate lessons learned from my Better: Gen programme.

After day 4 of the healthiest eating I have undertaken in some time, I am beginning to realise how lazy my eating habits had become. Food with different textures is challenging me! It takes me AGES to eat salad leaves or crunchy vegetables. My stir fry was cold tonight before I finished it. Subconsciously, I have been making food choices while having low energy levels that are actually easier to buy, prepare and EAT. That’s quite frightening. But good to know how much harder I will be working to chew and digest all this good food.

Things I have liked

1. It was great to have something other than a filled roll for lunch today
2. I am drinking loads more water
3. I am enjoying oranges again
4. Half a dozen double yolk-er eggs bought from the butchers
5. I only think about a chocolate biscuit for about 15 minutes every evening. I don’t need it.
6. I could concentrate longer at work today
7. Ross and I did not spend any more money on the weekly shop

Things I am not a fan of

1. Low-calorie ‘replacement’ snacks. If it tastes sweet, and there are hardly any calories… what is in it? I am not making positive changes and then filling my body with artificial sweeteners and other gunk. I think if I want an occasional treat, I’ll have a nice chocolate or butter my toast and be done with it. I think I am beginning to understand the difference between calorie counting and eating for health.
2. Ross’s protein shake flavour choice is questionable at best. Mint chocolate? Almost bad enough to buy my own.
3. I was hungry yesterday. I need to make bigger portions of the good stuff and have more frequent healthy snacks.

Lynn suggested I fast for two mornings per week. There is apparently lots of evidence on why this is good for you – something to do with cell renewal. It does seem counter-intuitive from everything I have ever been told about starting the day with a good breakfast. I tried this on Monday when Leo wasn’t really in a mood for letting me have peace to have breakfast anyway. I didn’t eat until lunchtime. I survived. Nothing bad happened. We will see what difference repeating this again in a few days makes.

I made my return to the Better: Gen gym for my first proper training session earlier. Usually, I would be planning excuses to get out of my exercise plans but that didn’t occur to me tonight. That’s the thing about public accountability by blogging… you’re more likely to follow through! Also, I was looking forward to spending time with Lynn and hearing how her Better Taygether choir was going.

Lynn’s plan for me was boxing. I find hitting things weird. All through my childhood, I was told not to hit things. Tonight Lynn wanted me to hit things as hard as I could. I surprised myself with how I got into it. I don’t have much power or coordination but I did work hard and have fun (and didn’t punch Lynn so that was a bonus!). We broke things up with tyre flips, push-ups and step ups with a bit of cardio for warm up and cool down. The session went quickly and I felt good for it. Honestly, I really could not be bothered chopping all the veg for our stir fry tonight and cooking it up. But I did and I’m glad. I’ll sleep well tonight.